Related Tags:

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – A vehicle traveling down the crooked block of San Francisco’s Lombard Street struck a fire hydrant, sending water flooding down the street and into nearby homes Friday afternoon.

The car struck a hydrant at 12:23 p.m. about halfway down the 1000 block of Lombard Street, the block famous for its eight steep, downhill turns, fire department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said.

Water cascades down the crooked part of Lombard St. in San Francisco after a car hit a fire hydrant, March 2, 2012. (Brian McInerny)

The crash sent water shooting out of the hydrant about 10 feet in the air. The water flowed around the street’s curves and into the garages of some nearby homes, according to Suhayb Ahmed, a tourist who witnessed the flooding.

Firefighters were able to stop the flow of water by about 1:05 p.m., Talmadge said. The department used a smaller fire truck specially designed for the crooked street to respond to the incident, she said.

Crews from the city’s Public Utilities Commission also responded to the accident, Talmadge said.

Lombard Street remained closed in the area as of 2:30 p.m., police Sgt. Mike Andraychak said.

(Copyright 2012 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)